Brandon Hurtado's Texas Twinkie Recipe

It's summer, and we're firing up the grills with Texas pitmaster and owner of Hurtado's Barbecue, Brandon Hurtado. We're bringing one of his standout recipes from his new cookbook Barbacoa to your backyard this Father's Day.

ABOUT BRANDON HURTADO

Brandon Hurtado started serving barbecue at North Texas breweries in 2018. Six years later, Hurtado Barbecue is the official BBQ of the Texas Rangers, with locations across Dallas-Fort Worth and a reputation as one of the fastest-growing independently-owned BBQ brands in the state. His debut cookbook, Barbacoa, is out now.

TEXAS TWINKIES

The Texas Twinkie was first invented by Hutchins Barbeque in McKinney, Texas, but has since been replicated and recreated by dozens of barbecue restaurants across the state over the last ten years. Brandon's version sets itself apart with two signature touches: a homemade pimiento cheese filling in place of cream cheese, and smoking the Twinkies all the way through rather than finishing on the grill. The result is something worth firing up the smoker for.

INGREDIENTS:

12 extra-large jalapeño peppers

1 pound (454 g) pimiento cheese

1 pound (454 g) chopped Tex-Mex Smoked Brisket (Barbacoa page 89), or store-bought

24 bacon slices (about 2 pounds, or 908 g)

2 tablespoons (20 g) kosher salt

⅓ cup (32 g) ground black pepper

2 cups (480 ml) My Sweet Sauce (Barbacoa page 33)

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat a smoker to 250°F (120°C).
2. Halve the jalapeños lengthwise and remove the seeds and veins with a spoon. Leave the stems. Fill the peppers on one side with 1½ ounces (43 g) of the pimiento cheese and the other side with 1½ ounces (43 g) of the chopped brisket.
   Close the two halves and wrap the jalapeño tightly with about 4 bacon slices. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Place the filled peppers in the smoker and cook for 1½ hours, or until the bacon is cooked through and the peppers have a mahogany color.
4. Glaze the peppers with the sauce and let them smoke for
   10 to 12 minutes longer until they're mahogany in color and the bacon is crispy.
5. Remove from the smoker and garnish with cilantro and any remaining sauce.